EDITOR’S NOTE — “Rock the Difference for Heroin Awareness” is a community event being held at the Shelby County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 7. This is one in a series of stories that will look into heroin use in Sidney and Shelby County leading up to the event. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page, or by calling 937-622-8859.

SIDNEY — Doing drugs has many consequences. This week The Sidney Daily News spoke to two female inmates in the Shelby County Jail who are dealing with these consequences everyday.

The inmates did not wish to be named, so they’ll be referred to as Jane and Sarah.

Jane is from Sidney, 35 years old, and a mother of two. She is currently incarcerated for driving under the influence (DUI) and driving under suspension (DUS). She said she was so high this time she was sent to the hospital because they thought she was going to overdose.

Jane’s drug of choice is currently heroin, but she said she’s tried everything. She has been doing some sort of drug, or drinking alcohol, since she was 12 years old.

Her mother is an addict, her father is an alcoholic, and her siblings are addicts as well, but she has a very good relationship with them. “Sometimes it’s a struggle because I want to do the right thing, but it’s really all around me,” she said.

She will be in jail until January 2017 this time. This was her second DUI in a year. She’s been charged with DUS four times. This time she was given 290 days in jail. In the past she has spent various six-month periods in the jail.

Jane didn’t try heroin until she was 27, but says she keeps seeing and hearing about younger and younger people doing it. She has a friend in jail whose 11 year old child just tried heroin. Jane is scared someone will give heroin to her kids who are about the same age. “The fact that our kids are doing this now is scary,” Jane said. “If someone gave my kid heroin — I’m going to prison for life.”

“Our kids see us doing it. See us hanging out with our friends. And they want to be our friend,” Jane said.

But a big reason people start doing heroin is because they were taking prescription pain pills and they just can’t get them anymore. Jane said she honestly tried it because she likes to try everything once.

“When a lot of your friends are addicts it’s hard to get away from that. You feel like they’re like me, so why can’t I be around them?” On a daily basis she thinks about some regrets she has and things she would have liked to do differently. She called it a constant struggle.

When Jane gets out she plans to get on Vivitrol, an antidote that help prevent relapses into alcohol or drug abuse, and get a job. “If I have stuff to do it will prevent me from using. It’s the boredom that get’s you. You get addicted to the lifestyle, the chaos and confusion of it,” she said.

Sarah agreed. When she gets out of jail she is going to move away from the area.

“When I moved away before it wasn’t as accessible. Sure there are dealers in every city, but when you have so many friends it’s hard to stay away from it,” she said.

Sarah grew up in Fort Loramie, and lived in Sidney. She is 33 years old and is a mother of three. She is currently incarcerated for possession of heroin. There was a drug-raid on her residence in August and they found a pill upstairs that was pinned on her because she was an addict, she said. Sarah will get out of jail in June.

She has been in and out of jail on various charges since she was 18 years old. She started smoking marijuana when she was 13 and drank alcohol all throughout her teenage years. “Growing up I was abused, but I was taken care of; I got everything I wanted. As I got older I wanted to rebel against them,” Sarah said.

She enjoyed taking pills, including Xanax, Oxycontin, Percocet and Morphine. She started heroin when she didn’t have access to pills anymore, around the time her daughter was eight months old. She said she did various drugs while she was pregnant with her kids.

“My ex-husband was an alcoholic, and I didn’t do much but sit at home all day with the kids,” Sarah said. “They live with my ex’s mom now. I gave her custody of them. I was maybe not taking the best care of them, but I was taking care of them. I would go without food some days so they could eat.”

Jane’s children live with their father, who she calls a very good dad. Both women said their relationship with their children has been strained because of the drug use, but look forward to trying to repair those relationships when they are released.

They say conditions in the jail are tough right now because it’s overcrowded. They’ve doubled up bunks.

“We spend most of our days playing cards. The ladies want to sit around and talk about getting high. It’s overwhelming sometimes, and even more overwhelming when you add so many more people to it,” Sarah said.

Both women didn’t graduate high school but obtained their GED’s in jail. They also take advantage of the classes the jail offers and have gotten several certificates in things like job readiness and communication. Sarah said she’s taken some of the classes multiple times because you learn something new every time.

Coming through the jail, the women said they see people of all ages. Sarah said there is definitely a heroin epidemic and doesn’t know how they’re going to be able to stop it.

“I would get people help. Especially with the younger kids. They are arrested and thrown in jail, then get out and start using again. They should be put into rehab. They have so many more classes that help you deal with being an addict,” Sarah said.

One of the many effects of heroin use is the risk of disease.

Sarah has Hepatitis-C and HIV from sharing needles. She calls heroin the devil. “(When I was high) there was nothing that could change my mind. You never know what could happen if you try it. Life is so much more worth living when you’re off of it,” she said. “I’ve lost a lot of family and friends. It’s just not worth it.”

“I would like to tell (people doing heroin) about the risks and consequences. The first time you try it could be your last. When you try it you get everything that comes with it. I have Hepatitis-C, and I could possibly have other things,” Jane said. “When I’m doing it, it doesn’t matter what anyone says to me. I’ve seen people die. When you have seen someone take their last breath you would think it would be enough to stop, but it’s not.”